Migration and Diffusion of Heavy Metals and Metalloids in Agri-Soil Systems

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 January 2025 | Viewed by 1227

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA
Interests: environmental science and engineering; contaminant fate and transport; soil remediation; water and wastewater treatment; environmental biotechnology; recovery of metal(loid)s
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Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Interests: plant biochemistry; molecular biology; microbiology; plant genetics; plant detoxification; environmental remediation; plant–microbe interactions
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Guest Editor
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Interests: solid characterization; mechanical properties of materials; mathematical modeling; multiscale simulations; sustainable chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural soil is a long-term sink for heavy metals and metalloids. Both natural input and anthropogenic input contribute to their accumulation in agricultural soil. The accumulation, diffusion, and migration of heavy metals and metalloids in agricultural soil systems pose a serious threat to the health of the agricultural ecosystem, animals, and humans. Therefore, it is of vital importance to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of diffusion and migration of heavy metals and metalloids, e.g., Zn, Pb, Se, Cu, Cd, and Cr, etc., in agricultural soil systems. This Special Issue welcomes scientific contributions to the aforementioned topic. High-quality original research and reviews are accepted.

Areas of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • The migration and transformation of heavy metals and metalloids in soil and plants;
  • Sources and accumulation of heavy metals and metalloids in agricultural systems;
  • Distribution and forms of metal(loid)s in agri-soil systems;
  • Environmental or health risk assessment on the migration of metal(loid)s;
  • Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation for the migration of metal(loid)s on regional or large scales;
  • Amendments to reduce the bioavailability and plant accumulation of metal(loid)s in agricultural soil.

Dr. Zhiming Zhang
Prof. Dr. Rupali Datta
Dr. Chenxi Zhai
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • heavy metals
  • metalloids
  • agricultural soil
  • migration
  • diffusion
  • transformation
  • sources and distribution
  • risk assessment
  • remediation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 6713 KiB  
Article
Combination Mechanism of Soil Dissolved Organic Matter and Cu2+ in Vegetable Fields, Forests and Dry Farmland in Lujiang County
by Youru Yao, Jingyi Zhang, Kang Ma, Jing Li, Xin Hu, Yusi Wang, Yuesheng Lin, Fengman Fang and Shiyin Li
Agriculture 2024, 14(5), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14050684 - 27 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) serves as a critical link in the migration and transformation of heavy metals at the soil–solid interface, influencing the migration behaviour and transformation processes of Cu2+ in soil. There have been studies on the combination mechanisms between DOM [...] Read more.
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) serves as a critical link in the migration and transformation of heavy metals at the soil–solid interface, influencing the migration behaviour and transformation processes of Cu2+ in soil. There have been studies on the combination mechanisms between DOM and Cu2+ in paddy soils. However, the adsorption/complexation and redox processes between DOM and Cu2+ in other agricultural soil types (such as dry farmland and vegetable fields) are unclear. In order to reveal the combination process of DOM with Cu in different agricultural soil types and the dynamic changes in chemical behaviour that occur, this study analysed the variability of DOM components and structure in three soils using three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, the priority order of different DOM compounds in combination with Cu and the change process in relation to the Cu valence state in the soil of Lujiang County, Anhui Province, was revealed based on laboratory experiments. The results showed that the composition of soil DOM was mainly composed of humic-like and fulvic-like substances with a clear terrestrial origin and that the organic matter showed a high degree of decomposition characteristics. The results indicated that the composition of soil DOM is mainly composed of humic and fulvic acid-like substances, and they have obvious characteristics of terrestrial origin. In addition, the soil organic matter showed high decomposition characteristics. The complex stability constants (lgKM) of humic acid-like substances with Cu2+ follow the order of forest land (lgKM = 5.21), vegetable land (lgKM = 4.90), and dry farmland (lgKM = 4.88). The lgKM of fulvic acid-like substances with Cu2+ is in the order of dry farmland (lgKM = 4.51) and vegetable land (lgKM = 4.39). Humic acid-like substances in soil DOM combine preferentially with Cu2+, showing a stronger chelating affinity than fulvic acid-like substances. Cu2+ complexes mainly include hydroxyl, phenolic hydroxyl and amino functional groups are included in soil DOM, accompanied by redox reactions. In comparison to dry farmland, the soil DOM in forest and vegetable fields undergoes more intense redox reactions simultaneously with the chelation of Cu2+. Therefore, the application of organic fertilisers to vegetable and forest soils may lead to uncertainties concerning the fate of heavy metals with variable chemical valence. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the interaction mechanisms between DOM and Cu2+ in agricultural soils. Full article
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